The Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme (RHVP) is a regional programme working primarily in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). RHVP supports policy-makers and practitioners concerned with food security, social protection and vulnerability in southern Africa. In doing so, it has a specific focus on social protection and, more particularly, social transfers (cash, inputs, food, agricultural subsidies).

RHVP is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and is managed by a consortium of international and regional partners led by UK-based consultants MASDAR. Phase 2 of the programme will run for two years from 1 October 2008 to 30 September 2010 and has three main components:

Component 1: Vulnerability Analysis and Assessment (VAA)

Vulnerability Analysis and Assessment (VAA) tools are used to analyse and assess vulnerability levels in order to inform policy formulation, development programmes and emergency interventions that lead to a reduction in vulnerability within the SADC region. RHVP will provide material and technical support to assist SADC to implement the Regional Vulnerability Assessment & Analysis (RVAA) Programme through its Programme Management Unit (PMU). This will create skills; provide a quality control check on the work of existing VACs and help set up new ones. The analysis of vulnerability will be essential to understand the potential impact of climate change. The programme will be a critical resource for the in DFID-funded regional climate change programme.

Component 2: Responses to Hunger and Vulnerability

This component will set out to provide skills in VAA and in hunger and vulnerability policy formulation on a sustainable basis from regional training programmes. RHVP will build on existing relationships and form new partnerships as appropriate to offer training in VAA and related methodologies, and in policy responses to hunger and vulnerability. It will also administer, with SADC PMU, a bursary fund to support participants to attend appropriate regional training courses.

Component 3: Hunger and Vulnerability Knowledge

Component 3 aims to provide knowledge from policy analysis on hunger and vulnerability to national and regional policy-makers. Building on the results and achievements of its first phase, RHVP will continue to provide evidence-based advice on policy options for reducing hunger and vulnerability as well as help increase understanding of the impacts of other programmes, such as work on orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), HIV/AIDS, NEPAD’s Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and SADC’s multi-country agricultural productivity programme (MAPP). RHVP will assist in helping direct proposed DFID long term research on social protection to where it can have greatest impact.